Ayisha Malik

This was compelling and stressful. I was not in the mood for stressful, but I kept reading because I thought the ending would make me feel like it was all worthwhile.

Instead, this book doesn’t end the way I was expecting it to. I can’t remember the last time I was disappointed so intensely, so viscerally, by an ending! (Actually I think I was fifteen.) Intellectually I can recognise how the ending fits the narrative, especially given the way Sofia’s grief affects so much of what happens, but I was not in the right headspace to appreciate it.

“Sofe. You’re always telling us not to rush into things. Trust you to go and get carried away.”
“Excuse me. I’m still very much in command of my actions and feelings.”
She laughed. “Yeah, all right, love.”
Suddenly I wondered where my head had been the past few months.
“It’s fine. You always have been single-minded,” she said.
I wasn’t sure if she meant that I was focused, or that I’ve always had the mind of a single person.… (más)

Sofia is persuaded to write about about Muslim dating, so she tries out dating apps for research purposes.

I loved this! It’s a strong candidate for my favourite books of the year list. Sofia is warm and funny and insightful about her experiences, her culture and her relationships. I particularly liked the portrayal of supportive friendships and of thirty-somethings still living with their parents.

“It would just be far easier deciding to live life as a single person if everyone would let me.”
“People are always going to ask when you’re getting married,” said Maria. “That’s what makes people actually get married.”
I think there should be a ‘Marriage’ jar. Anyone who mentions it has to put in a pound. The proceeds can go towards funding research into arthritis and obsession.… (más)

would have most definitely received at least 4 stars from me, where it not horribly fatshaming and fatphobic throughout

too bad because in all other aspects it was as close you can get to a perfect romance novel

the heroine is smart, funny, independent, complex
all characters are well written and feel real
-apart from the main romance guy, you can tell who he is very early on, who's unrealistically perfect-

was tired with some of the cliches (does there need to be a last-call wedding cancellation?) but they were very few… (más)